Is it Magic?

Is Reading Magic?

You might not know the sound of my voice, but you know what I am saying. You would be able to repeat my words to another even if you had never met me. If you are reading these words 200 years after I have passed on from this mortal realm, you would still be able to hear what I have said. You could paint them on canvas, carve them into wood, scratch them into stone, itch them into skin... and still the words could be passed on and heard by others so long as they know the "magic of reading".

...and of course understand English or something equivalent.

I would say it is something pretty magical. We could be sitting -- or standing -- here communicating, by me having recited this into a microphone and recording it as an mp3 file or podcast and you playing my spoken words, but that would require some sort of technology to duplicate. If you print this on paper you can carry it with you and anyone who can see and read English will be able to understand it simply by looking at it -- anyone who understands this magic.

It strikes home with me at times more strongly than others. I researched "runes" -- the primitive letter system used by cultures such as the Norse -- in local and university libraries and one of the articles referred to runic writing found in Kiev. This was the ancient city of Kiev from a time when it was inhabited in part by Norse Traders before 1000 AD. There were bits of writing found on scraps of bark which were found in odd places where they might have been lost or stuck. Places like where they might have gotten between floorboards in wood walkways or in cracks in walls. I am not talking about ancient scrolls here. What struck me was that some were notes saying such things as "pick up three eggs on the way home" or "meet me after class" or "I like Ivan. He is cute." -- things that you might find on notes in any school child's pocket today... or do they only "text" now? I can not remember the exact content of the few notes that they made example of as it was over 20 years ago, but could find it probably. What was said in the article in "Scientific American" (Probably from the 1980's) was that this showed the people used runic writing in their everyday lives.

What I want to say with this is that when we read this -- or could if we were runic readers and understood the language of the Kievian Norse traders -- we are reading the words of a parent or child from over 2000 years ago! ...not some priestly incantation on a pyramid or other monument, but from the scraps of bark from a child's pocket.

We might do a lot with computers like here on the Internet -- I really love using my notebook computer, for instance -- and I would like to get an eBook reader of some sort and perhaps an even more portable way to take notes and write* -- but I can take a book anywhere and read it so long as there is light for my eyes and the environment wouldn't harm the paper. (Reading in swimming pools can be hard on books.) But I don't need a "reader" to read a book once it has been printed.

Reading and writing are very important arts and to someone who does not know how to read, must be a bit like magic. I think to a primitive culture that isn't literate, reading and writing would indeed be "Magic" as much as anything else could be. It is a magic that can be learned and taught of course.

It is also a magic that can open whole worlds!

Later!
~ Darrell

114

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* Notepads and pencils are wonderful and portable and while I do use them, I have problems with handwriting due to learning disorders and so I tend to rely on typing and other methods of writing that take handwriting out of the equation. I would rather use a trusty notepad when out and about.

Here's the Caboose!

What's a Caboose?

When I grew up any child -- at least in Canada and the USA knew what a Caboose was. I figure most folk who spoke English natively might know that. The "caboose" was the special train car that came at the end of a train. In fact it confused me that passenger trains didn't have them!

Now they no longer put cabooses at the end of freight trains, they have been replaced by electronic boxes of some sort they put at the back of the last car in the train. The function of the caboose as a car for the train crew no longer exists and the entire crew is -- I imagine either in the engine or in the various railroad offices.

Perhaps cabooses have become "extinct" on today's railroads, but what does this mean for the caboose in the English language? I don't imagine that many will miss it and people will simply think that those who talk about getting a "swift kick in the caboose" are a bit eccentric. They might wonder at some of the children's books that talk about trains and mention cabooses. (image of CPR caboose to right -- image from "Railway Photography by Chris vanderHeide") Of course "caboose" might not be the only word that gets you weird looks. What do you think kids today make of "Choo choo train"? Other than special tour trains and museums and in movies and on TV they might not see a steam engine or even if so not equate it with "Choo choo trains".

It is something that has happened again and again with changes in society and technology. When was the last time you talked about a "Hi Fi"? "Gramophone" "Victrola". I wonder how long before "record player" disappears from our normal vocabulary and is relegated to Scrabble games or Crossword puzzles?

I hope that doesn't happen with something like "polar bear".

Later!
~ Darrell

112.

He, She, They, His, Hers, Theirs, His, Her, Their

He, She, They, His, Hers, Theirs, His, Her, Their

I never was comfortable with the "he/she" "sir/madam" thing. When I went to school and was taught English things were simpler. We were taught that when speaking in that sort of universal "mankind sense, we were to use the masculine tense. "Mankind" meant everyone - men, women, children - not just adult males. It made sense. Just like it was Mr. Mrs. and Miss and there was no title for a young single male - young or old. I never thought it was fair that my sister might have mail written to Miss Gnomestead and my parents to Mr Gnomestead and Mrs Gnomestead but me only Darrell Wade. I guess there was always "Master" but who ever used that?

As I went through the school system and things in life and society changed - they brought in the metric system and feminism - somebody decided to fix the issue about "Miss" and that there should be "Ms". I thought, "Great, now not only is there Mrs for married women, Miss for single women, but now there is Ms for women who wish not to be known as either. For guys there is only Mr which I guess works for boys too.....

I guess I got over it. I'm not married and I happily use "Mr" - but there is still the issue of "he/she".

In some reference books they make a statement like "In this book we have decided to use the masculine gender..." or "...feminine gender..." and then keep with that gender for cases where there is no specific gender. I guess that is less cumbersome than the a/b method. A better way that I have found was described in the beginning of "What Colour is My Parachute" a book on career and job search. In that book the author explains that less important than gender agreement is number agreement and that often we will use the plural for singular incidents like in signs. For instance asking that "People not use their cell phones." "Their" is used whether referring to singular or plural in many such cases so in that book by Dick Bolles he uses the plural instead of singular gendered pronouns.

So instead of referring to "his book" I might refer to "their book" if I do not know the gender or if gender is unimportant. Or if the reader is uncomfortable with the use of "it" as a neutral gender pronoun for people I suggest they use "they" rather than "he/she".

I have tended to use this convention when I wished to write about someone without giving information about their gender so as to keep their identification even that much more anonymous.

An interesting situation I treat a bit differently is a matter of speaking of religious matter. I often prefer not to use gender when refering to God. I am Christian so I would refer to Christ as "He" and "God the Father" as "He", but the "Holy Spirit" I might not wish to give gender to. Also referring to God as a whole I prefer not to use "He", but I do not wish to say "She" and certainly not "He/She" and definitely not "It". So for me my solution is simply when referring to God, I try not to use a pronoun and instead simply use "God". So where I might use "He" or "Him" or "His" I would use "God" or "God" or "God's".

I am lead to understand that in Hebrew, at least older Hebrew, a special tense/gender or whatever you call it is used for God that is not a masculine form or a feminine form.

So when I write about my friend I will say that they are a good friend. You will not know what their gender is. I might also write to you that as a Christian I believe in God and that I do not typically refer to God's gender or use pronouns for God. Instead I will refer to God as God. For instance instead of saying "He created the World." I will say "God created the World".

Anyway, so in my writing I hope you don't get confused if it seems I might be mixing up my pronouns when speaking about singular people of undetermined gender.

Later!
~Darrell

Wordplay

Poking Fun...

In a forum conversation about some of the silliness in asking a person with actual learning disability in spelling aptitude the gnome added:

Yeah and try to look up lieutenant (wow I spelled it right first go! though the spell checker insists that "spelled" is spelt wrong... or more that I should say that it was not spelt right.) That and bureau. I mean with bureau if you get it wrong you might start with beaureau or leiutenant.... and if you start looking in a dictionary there are so very many combinations of vowels... enough to make bowel sounds come forth with the effart.

...not to mention the phonetic of us who woud be seeking an "F".

BTW what is it with purple brains?

They keep referring to them when someone thinks of something brilliant. If someone comes up with something clever that someone else also has out comes the old saw: Grape minds think alike. Whatever that means....